But Solomon, upon hearing what was being done by the soldiers in the

country, became greatly disturbed, and ceased not exhorting those in the

city and urging them to loyalty toward the emperor. And they at first

seemed to receive his words with favour, but on the fifth day, when they

heard that those who had gone out were secure in their power, they

gathered in the hippodrome and insulted Solomon and the other commanders

without restraint. And Theodorus, the Cappadocian, being sent there by

Solomon, attempted to dissuade them and win them by kind words, but they

listened to nothing of what was said. Now this Theodorus had a certain

hostility against Solomon and was suspected of plotting against him. For

this reason the mutineers straightway elected him general over them by

acclamation, and with him they went with all speed to the palace

carrying weapons and raising a great tumult. There they killed another

Theodorus, who was commander of the guards, a man of the greatest

excellence in every respect and an especially capable warrior. And when

they had tasted this blood, they began immediately to kill everyone they

met, whether Libyan or Roman, if he were known to Solomon or had money

in his hands; and then they turned to plundering, going up into the

houses which had no soldiers to defend them and seizing all the most

valuable things, until the coming of night, and drunkenness following

their toil, made them cease.

And Solomon succeeded in escaping unnoticed into the great sanctuary

which is in the palace, and Martinus joined him there in the late

afternoon. And when all the mutineers were sleeping, they went out from

the sanctuary and entered the house of Theodorus, the Cappadocian, who

compelled them to dine although they had no desire to do so, and

conveyed them to the harbour and put them on the skiff of a certain

ship, which happened to have been made ready there by Martinus. And

Procopius also, who wrote this history, was with them, and about five

men of the house of Solomon. And after accomplishing three hundred

stades they reached Misuas, the ship-yard of Carthage, and, since they

had reached safety, Solomon straightway commanded Martinus to go into

Numidia to Valerian and the others who shared his command, and endeavour

to bring it about that each one of them, if it were in any way possible,

should appeal to some of the soldiers known to him, either with money or

by other means, and bring them back to loyalty toward the emperor. And

he sent a letter to Theodorus, charging him to take care of Carthage and

to handle the other matters as should seem possible to him, and he

himself with Procopius went to Belisarius at Syracuse. And after

reporting everything to him which had taken place in Libya, he begged

him to come with all speed to Carthage and defend the emperor, who was

suffering unholy treatment at the hands of his own soldiers, Solomon,

then, was thus engaged.

XV

But the mutineers, after plundering everything in Carthage, gathered in

the plain of Boulla, and chose Stotzas,[50] one of the guards of

Martinus, and a passionate and energetic man, as tyrant over them, with

the purpose of driving the emperor's commanders out of all Libya and

thus gaining control over it. And he armed the whole force, amounting to

about eight thousand men, and led them on to Carthage, thinking to win

over the city instantly with no trouble. He sent also to the Vandals who

had run away from Byzantium with the ships and those who had not gone

there with Belisarius in the beginning, either because they had escaped

notice, or because those who were taking off the Vandals at that time

took no account of them. Now they were not fewer than a thousand, and

after no great time they joined Stotzas and the army with enthusiasm.

And a great throng of slaves also came to him. And when they drew near

Carthage, Stotzas sent orders that the people should surrender the city

to him as quickly as possible, on condition of their remaining free from

harm. But those in Carthage and Theodorus, in reply to this, refused

flatly to obey, and announced that they were guarding Carthage for the

emperor. And they sent to Stotzas Joseph, the secretary of the emperor's

guards, a man of no humble birth and one of the household of Belisarius,

who had recently been sent to Carthage on some mission to them, and they

demanded that Stotzas should go no further in his violence. But Stotzas,

upon hearing this, straightway killed Joseph and commenced a siege. And

those in the city, becoming terrified at the danger, were purposing to

surrender themselves and Carthage to Stotzas under an agreement. Such

was the course of events in the army in Libya.

But Belisarius selected one hundred men from his own spearmen and

guards, and taking Solomon with him, sailed into Carthage with one ship

at about dusk, at the time when the besiegers were expecting that the

city would be surrendered to them on the following day. And since they

were expecting this, they bivouacked that night. But when day had come

and they learned that Belisarius was present, they broke up camp as

quickly as possible and disgracefully and in complete disorder beat a

hasty retreat And Belisarius gathered about two thousand of the army

and, after urging them with words to be loyal to the emperor and

encouraging them with large gifts of money, he began the pursuit of the

fugitives. And he overtook them at the city of Membresa, three hundred

and fifty stades distant from Carthage. There both armies made camp and

prepared themselves for battle, the forces of Belisarius making their

entrenchment at the River Bagradas, and the others in a high and

difficult position. For neither of them saw fit to enter the city, since

it was without walls. And on the day following they joined battle, the

mutineers trusting in their numbers, and the troops of Belisarius

despising their enemy as both without sense and without generals. And

Belisarius, wishing that these thoughts should be firmly lodged in the

minds of his soldiers, called them all together and spoke as follows:--

"The situation, fellow-soldiers, both for the emperor and for the

Romans, falls far short of our hopes and of our prayers. For we have now

come to a combat in which even the winning of the victory will not be

without tears for us, since we are fighting against kinsmen and men who

have been reared with us. But we have this comfort in our misfortune,

that we are not ourselves beginning the battle, but have been brought

into the conflict in our own defence. For he who has framed the plot

against his dearest friends and by his own act has dissolved the ties of

kinship, dies not, if he perishes, by the hands of his friends, but

having become an enemy is but making atonement to those who have

suffered wrong. And that our opponents are public enemies and barbarians

and whatever worse name one might call them, is shewn not alone by

Libya, which has become plunder under their hands, nor by the

inhabitants of this land, who have been wrongfully slain, but also by

the multitude of Roman soldiers whom these enemies have dared to kill,

though they have had but one fault to charge them with--loyalty to their

government. And it is to avenge these their victims that we have now

come against them, having with good reason become enemies to those who

were once most dear. For nature has made no men in the world either

friends or opponents to one another, but it is the actions of men in

every case which, either by the similarity of the motives which actuate

them unite them in alliance, or by the difference set them in hostility

to each other, making them friends or enemies as the case may be. That,

therefore, we are fighting against men who are outlaws and enemies of

the state, you must now be convinced; and now I shall make it plain that

they deserve to be despised by us. For a throng of men united by no law,

but brought together by motives of injustice, is utterly unable by

nature to play the part of brave men, since valour is unable to dwell

with lawlessness, but always shuns those who are unholy. Nor, indeed,

will they preserve discipline or give heed to the commands given by

Stotzas. For when a tyranny is newly organized and has not yet won that

authority which self-confidence gives, it is, of necessity, looked upon

by its subjects with contempt. Nor is it honoured through any sentiment

of loyalty, for a tyranny is, in the nature of the case, hated; nor does

it lead its subjects by fear, for timidity deprives it of the power to

speak out openly. And when the enemy is handicapped in point of valour

and of discipline, their defeat is ready at hand. With great contempt,

therefore, as I said, we should go against this enemy of ours. For it is

not by the numbers of the combatants, but by their orderly array and

their bravery, that prowess in war is wont to be measured."

So spoke Belisarius. And Stotzas exhorted his troops as follows: "Men

who with me have escaped our servitude to the Romans, let no one of you

count it unworthy to die on behalf of the freedom which you have won by

your courage and your other qualities. For it is not so terrible a thing

to grow old and die in the midst of ills, as to return again to it after

having gained freedom from oppressive conditions. For the interval which

has given one a taste of deliverance makes the misfortune, naturally

enough, harder to bear. And this being so, it is necessary for you to

call to mind that after conquering the Vandals and the Moors you

yourselves have enjoyed the labours of war, while others have become

masters of all the spoils. And consider that, as soldiers, you will be

compelled all your lives to be acquainted with the dangers of war,

either in behalf of the emperor's cause, if, indeed, you are again his

slaves, or in behalf of your own selves, if you preserve this present

liberty. And whichever of the two is preferable, this it is in your

power to choose, either by becoming faint-hearted at this time, or by

preferring to play the part of brave men. Furthermore, this thought also

should come to your minds,--that if, having taken up arms against the

Romans, you come under their power, you will have experience of no

moderate or indulgent masters, but you will suffer the extreme of

punishment, and, what is more, your death will not have been unmerited.

To whomsoever of you, therefore, death comes in this battle, it is plain

that it will be a glorious death; and life, if you conquer the enemy,

will be independent and in all other respects happy; but if you are

defeated,--I need mention no other bitterness than this, that all your

hope will depend upon the mercy of those men yonder. And the conflict

will not be evenly matched in regard to strength. For not only are the

enemy greatly surpassed by us in numbers, but they will come against us

without the least enthusiasm, for I think that they are praying for a

share of this our freedom." Such was the speech of Stotzas.

As the armies entered the combat, a wind both violent and exceedingly

troublesome began to blow in the faces of the mutineers of Stotzas. For

this reason they thought it disadvantageous for them to fight the battle

where they were, fearing lest the wind by its overpowering force should

carry the missiles of the enemy against them, while the impetus of their

own missiles would be very seriously checked. They therefore left their

position and moved toward the flank, reasoning that if the enemy also

should change front, as they probably would, in order that they might

not be assailed from the rear, the wind would then be in their faces.

But Belisarius, upon seeing that they had left their position and in

complete disorder were moving to his flank, gave orders immediately to

open the attack. And the troops of Stotzas were thrown into confusion by

the unexpected move, and in great disorder, as each one could, they fled

precipitately, and only when they reached Numidia did they collect

themselves again. Few of them, however, perished in this action, and

most of them were Vandals. For Belisarius did not pursue them at all,

for the reason that it seemed to him sufficient, since his army was very

small, if the enemy, having been defeated for the present, should get

out of his way. And he gave the soldiers the enemy's stockade to

plunder, and they took it with not a man inside. But much money was

found there and many women, the very women because of whom this war took

place.[51] After accomplishing this, Belisarius marched back to

Carthage. And someone coming from Sicily reported to him that a mutiny

had broken out in the army and was about to throw everything into

confusion, unless he himself should return to them with all speed and

take measures to prevent it. He there therefore arranged matters in

Libya as well as he could and, entrusting Carthage to Ildiger and

Theodorus, went to Sicily.

And the Roman commanders in Numidia, hearing that the troops of Stotzas

had come and were gathering there, prepared for battle. Now the

commanders were as follows: of foederati,[52] Marcellus and Cyril, of

the cavalry forces, Barbatus, and of infantry Terentius and Sarapis.

All, however, took their commands from Marcellus, as holding the

authority in Numidia. He, therefore, upon hearing that Stotzas with some

few men was in a place called Gazophyla,[53] about two days' journey

distant from Constantina,[54] wished to anticipate the gathering of all

the mutineers, and led his army swiftly against them. And when the two

armies were near together and the battle was about to commence, Stotzas

came alone into the midst of his opponents and spoke as follows:

"Fellow-soldiers, you are not acting justly in taking the field against

kinsmen and those who have been reared with you, and in raising arms

against men who in vexation at your misfortunes and the wrongs you have

suffered have decided to make war upon the emperor and the Romans. Or do

you not remember that you have been deprived of the pay which has been

owing you for a long time back, and that you have been robbed of the

enemy's spoil, which the law of war has set as prizes for the dangers of

battle? And that the others have claimed the right to live sumptuously

all their lives upon the good things of victory, while you have followed

as if their servants? If, now, you are angry with me, it is within your

power to vent your wrath upon this body, and to escape the pollution of

killing the others; but if you have no charge to bring against me, it is

time for you to take up your weapons in your own behalf." So spoke

Stotzas; and the soldiers listened to his words and greeted him with

great favour. And when the commanders saw what was happening, they

withdrew in silence and took refuge in a sanctuary which was in

Gazophyla. And Stotzas combined both armies into one and then went to

the commanders. And finding them in the sanctuary, he gave pledges and

then killed them all.

XVI

When the emperor learned this, he sent his nephew Germanus, a man of

patrician rank, with some few men to Libya. And Symmachus also and

Domnicus, men of the senate, followed him, the former to be prefect and

charged with the maintenance of the army, while Domnicus was to command

the infantry forces. For John,[55] who had held the office of prefect,

had already died of disease. And when they had sailed into Carthage,

Germanus counted the soldiers whom they had, and upon looking over the

books of the scribes where the names of all the soldiers were

registered, he found that the third part of the army was in Carthage and

the other cities, while all the rest were arrayed with the tyrant

against the Romans. He did not, therefore, begin any fighting, but

bestowed the greatest care upon his army. And considering that those

left in Carthage were the kinsmen or tentmates of the enemy, he kept

addressing many winning words to all, and in particular said that he had

himself been sent by the emperor to Libya in order to defend the

soldiers who had been wronged and to punish those who had unprovoked

done them any injury. And when this was found out by the mutineers, they

began to come over to him a few at a time. And Germanus both received

them into the city in a friendly manner and, giving pledges, held them

in honour, and he gave them their pay for the time during which they had

been in arms against the Romans. And when the report of these acts was

circulated and came to all, they began now to detach themselves in large

numbers from the tyrant and to march to Carthage. Then at last Germanus,

hoping that in the battle he would be evenly matched in strength with

his opponents, began to make preparations for the conflict.

But in the meantime Stotzas, already perceiving the trouble, and fearing

lest by the defection of still others of his soldiers the army should be

reduced still more, was pressing for a decisive encounter immediately

and trying to take hold of the war with more vigour. And since he had

some hope regarding the soldiers in Carthage, that they would come over

to him, and thought that they would readily desert if he came near them,

he held out the hope to all his men; and after encouraging them

exceedingly in this way, he advanced swiftly with his whole army against

Carthage. And when he had come within thirty-five stades of the city, he

made camp not far from the sea, and Germanus, after arming his whole

army and arraying them for battle, marched forth. And when they were all

outside the city, since he had heard what Stotzas was hoping for, he

called together the whole army and spoke as follows:

"That there is nothing, fellow-soldiers, with which you can justly

reproach the emperor, and no fault which you can find with what he has

done to you, this, I think, no one of you all could deny; for it was he

who took you as you came from the fields with your wallets and one small

frock apiece and brought you together in Byzantium, and has caused you

to be so powerful that the Roman state now depends upon you. And that he

has not only been treated with wanton insult, but has also suffered the

most dreadful of all things at your hands, you yourselves, doubtless,

know full well. And desiring that you should preserve the memory of

these things for ever, he has dismissed the accusations brought against

you for your crimes, asking that this debt alone be due to him from

you--shame for what you have done. It is reasonable, therefore, that

you, being thus regarded by him, should learn anew the lesson of good

faith and correct your former folly. For when repentance comes at the

fitting time upon those who have done wrong, it is accustomed to make

those who have been injured indulgent; and service which comes in season

is wont to bring another name to those who have been called ungrateful.

"And it will be needful for you to know well this also, that if at the

present time you shew yourselves completely loyal to the emperor, no

remembrance will remain of what has gone before. For in the nature of

things every course of action is characterized by men in accordance with

its final outcome; and while a wrong which has once been committed can

never be undone in all time, still, when it has been corrected by better

deeds on the part of those who committed it, it receives the fitting

reward of silence and generally comes to be forgotten. Moreover, if you

act with any disregard of duty toward these accursed rascals at the

present time, even though afterwards you fight through many wars in

behalf of the Romans and often win the victory over the enemy, you will

never again be regarded as having requited the emperor as you can

requite him to-day. For those who win applause in the very matter of

their former wrong-doing always gain for themselves a fairer apology. As

regards the emperor, then, let each one of you reason in some such way.

But as for me, I have not voluntarily done you any injustice, and I have

displayed my good-will to you by all possible means, and now, facing

this danger, I have decided to ask this much of you all: let no man

advance with us against the enemy contrary to his judgement. But if

anyone of you is already desirous of arraying himself with them, without

delay let him go with his weapons to the enemy's camp, granting us this

one favour, that it be not stealthily, but openly, that he has decided

to do us wrong. Indeed, it is for this reason that I am making my

speech, not in Carthage, but after coming on the battle-field, in order

that I might not be an obstacle to anyone who desires to desert to our

opponents, since it is possible for all without danger to shew their

disposition toward the state." Thus spoke Germanus. And a great uproar

ensued in the Roman army, for each one demanded the right to be the

first to display to the general his loyalty to the emperor and to swear

the most dread oaths in confirmation.

XVII

Now for some time the two armies remained in position opposite each

other. But when the mutineers saw that nothing of what Stotzas had

foretold was coming to pass, they began to be afraid as having been

unexpectedly cheated of their hope, and they broke their ranks and

withdrew, and marched off to Numidia, where were their women and the

money from their booty. And Germanus too came there with the whole army

not long afterwards, having made all preparations in the best way

possible and also bringing along many wagons for the army. And

overtaking his opponents in a place which the Romans call Scalae

Veteres, he made his preparations for battle in the following manner.

Placing the wagons in line facing the front, he arrayed all the infantry

along them under the leadership of Domnicus, so that by reason of having

their rear in security they might fight with the greater courage. And

the best of the horsemen and those who had come with him from Byzantium

he himself had on the left of the infantry, while all the others he

placed on the right wing, not marshalled in one body but in three

divisions. And Ildiger led one of them, Theodoras the Cappadocian

another, while the remaining one, which was larger, was commanded by

John, the brother of Pappus, with three others. Thus did the Romans

array themselves.

And the mutineers took their stand opposite them, not in order, however,

but scattered, more in the manner of barbarians. And at no great

distance many thousands of Moors followed them, who were commanded by a

number of leaders, and especially by Iaudas and Ortaïas. But not all of

them, as it happened, were faithful to Stotzas and his men, for many had

sent previously to Germanus and agreed that, when they came into the

fight, they would array themselves with the emperor's army against the

enemy. However, Germanus could not trust them altogether, for the

Moorish nation is by nature faithless to all men. It was for this reason

also that they did not array themselves with the mutineers, but remained

behind, waiting for what would come to pass, in order that with those

who should be victorious they might join in the pursuit of the

vanquished. Such was the purpose, then, of the Moors, in following

behind and not mingling with the mutineers.

And when Stotzas came close to the enemy and saw the standard of

Germanus, he exhorted his men and began to charge against him. But the

mutinous Eruli who were arrayed about him did not follow and even tried

with all their might to prevent him, saying that they did not know the

character of the forces of Germanus, but that they did know that those

arrayed on the enemy's right would by no means withstand them. If,

therefore, they should advance against these, they would not only give

way themselves and turn to flight, but would also, in all probability,

throw the rest of the Roman army into confusion; but if they should

attack Germanus and be driven back and put to rout, their whole cause

would be ruined on the spot. And Stotzas was persuaded by these words,

and permitted the others to fight with the men of Germanus, while he

himself with the best men went against John and those arrayed with him.

And they failed to withstand the attack and hastened to flee in complete

disorder. And the mutineers took all their standards immediately, and

pursued them as they fled at top speed, while some too charged upon the

infantry, who had already begun to abandon their ranks. But at this

juncture Germanus himself, drawing his sword and urging the whole of

that part of the army to do the same, with great difficulty routed the

mutineers opposed to him and advanced on the run against Stotzas. And

then, since he was joined in this effort by the men of Ildiger and

Theodorus, the two armies mingled with each other in such a way that,

while the mutineers were pursuing some of their enemy, they were being

overtaken and killed by others. And as the confusion became greater and

greater, the troops of Germanus, who were in the rear, pressed on still

more, and the mutineers, falling into great fear, thought no longer of

resistance. But neither side could be distinguished either by their own

comrades or by their opponents. For all used one language and the same

equipment of arms, and they differed neither in figure nor in dress nor

in any other thing whatever. For this reason the soldiers of the emperor

by the advice of Germanus, whenever they captured anyone, asked who he

was; and then, if he said that he was a soldier of Germanus, they bade

him give the watchword of Germanus, and if he was not at all able to

give this, they killed him instantly. In this struggle one of the enemy

got by unnoticed and killed the horse of Germanus, and Germanus himself

fell to the ground and came into danger, and would have been lost had

not his guards quickly saved him by forming an enclosure around him and

mounting him on another horse.

As for Stotzas, he succeeded in this tumult in escaping with a few men.

But Germanus, urging on his men, went straight for the enemy's camp.

There he was encountered by those of the mutineers who had been

stationed to guard the stockade. A stubborn fight took place around its

entrance, and the mutineers came within a little of forcing back their

opponents, but Germanus sent some of his followers and bade them make

trial of the camp at another point. These men, since no one was

defending the camp at this place, got inside the stockade with little

trouble. And the mutineers, upon seeing them, rushed off in flight, and

Germanus with all the rest of the army dashed into the enemy's camp.

There the soldiers, finding it easy to plunder the goods of the camp,

neither took any account of the enemy nor paid any further heed to the

exhortations of their general, since booty was at hand. For this reason

Germanus, fearing lest the enemy should get together and come upon them,

himself with some few men took his stand at the entrance of the

stockade, uttering many laments and urging his unheeding men to return

to good order. And many of the Moors, when the rout had taken place in

this way, were now pursuing the mutineers, and, arraying themselves with

the emperor's troops, were plundering the camp of the vanquished. But

Stotzas, at first having confidence in the Moorish army, rode to them in

order to renew the battle. But perceiving what was being done, he fled

with a hundred men, and succeeded with difficulty in making his escape.

And once more many gathered about him and attempted to engage with the

enemy, but being repulsed no less decisively than before, if not even

more so, they all came over to Germanus. And Stotzas alone with some few

Vandals withdrew to Mauretania, and taking to wife the daughter of one

of the rulers, remained there. And this was the conclusion of that

mutiny.

XVIII

Now there was among the body-guards of Theodorus, the Cappadocian, a

certain Maximinus, an exceedingly base man. This Maximinus had first got

a very large number of the soldiers to join with him in a conspiracy

against the government, and was now purposing to attempt a tyranny. And

being eager to associate with himself still more men, he explained the

project to others and especially to Asclepiades, a native of Palestine,

who was a man of good birth and the first of the personal friends of

Theodorus. Now Asclepiades, after conversing with Theodorus, straightway

reported the whole matter to Germanus. And he, not wishing as yet, while

affairs were still unsettled, to begin any other disturbance, decided to

get the best of the man by cajoling and flattering him rather than by

punishment, and to bind him by oaths to loyalty toward the government.

Accordingly, since it was an old custom among all Romans that no one

should become a body-guard of one of the commanders, unless he had

previously taken the most dread oaths and given pledges of his loyalty

both toward his own commander and toward the Roman emperor, he summoned

Maximinus, and praising him for his daring, directed him to be one of

his body-guards from that time forth. And he, being overjoyed at the

extraordinary honour, and conjecturing that his project would in this

way get on more easily, took the oath, and though from that time forth

he was counted among the body-guards of Germanus, he did not hesitate to

disregard his oaths immediately and to strengthen much more than ever

his plans to achieve the tyranny.

Now the whole city was celebrating some general festival, and many of

the conspirators of Maximinus at about the time of lunch came according

to their agreement to the palace, where Germanus was entertaining his

friends at a feast, and Maximinus took his stand beside the couches with

the other body-guards. And as the drinking proceeded, someone entered

and announced to Germanus that many soldiers were standing in great

disorder before the door of the court, putting forward the charge that

the government owed them their pay for a long period. And he commanded

the most trusty of the guards secretly to keep close watch over

Maximinus, allowing him in no way to perceive what was being done. Then

the conspirators with threats and tumult proceeded on the run to the

hippodrome, and those who shared their plan with them gathered gradually

from the houses and were assembling there. And if it had so chanced that

all of them had come together, no one, I think, would have been able

easily to destroy their power; but, as it was, Germanus anticipated

this, and, before the greater part had yet arrived, he straightway sent

against them all who were well-disposed to himself and to the emperor.

And they attacked the conspirators before they expected them. And then,

since Maximinus, for whom they were waiting to begin the battle for

them, was not with them, and they did not see the crowd gathered to help

them, as they had thought it would be, but instead even beheld their

fellow-soldiers unexpectedly fighting against them, they consequently

lost heart and were easily overcome in the struggle and rushed off in

flight and in complete disorder. And their opponents slew many of them,

and they also captured many alive and brought them to Germanus. Those,

however, who had not already come to the hippodrome gave no indication

of their sentiment toward Maximinus. And Germanus did not see fit to go

on and seek them out, but he enquired whether Maximinus, since he had

sworn the oath, had taken part in the plot. And since it was proved

that, though numbered among his own body-guards he had carried on his

designs still more than before, Germanus impaled him close by the

fortifications of Carthage, and in this way succeeded completely in

putting down the sedition. As for Maximinus, then, such was the end of

his plot.

XI

[539-540 A.D.] And the emperor summoned Germanus together with Symmachus

and Domnicus and again entrusted all Libya to Solomon, in the thirteenth

year of his reign; and he provided him with an army and officers, among

whom were Rufinus and Leontius, the sons of Zaunas the son of

Pharesmanas, and John, the son of Sisiniolus. For Martinus and

Valerianus had already before this gone under summons to Byzantium. And

Solomon sailed to Carthage, and having rid himself of the sedition of

Stotzas, he ruled with moderation and guarded Libya securely, setting

the army in order, and sending to Byzantium and to Belisarius whatever

suspicious elements he found in it, and enrolling new soldiers to equal

their number, and removing those of the Vandals who were left and

especially all their women from the whole of Libya. And he surrounded

each city with a wall, and guarding the laws with great strictness, he

restored the government completely. And Libya became under his rule

powerful as to its revenues and prosperous in other respects.

And when everything had been arranged by him in the best way possible,

he again made an expedition against Iaudas and the Moors on Aurasium.

And first he sent forward Gontharis, one of his own body-guards and an

able warrior, with an army. Now Gontharis came to the Abigas River and

made camp near Bagaïs, a deserted city. And there he engaged with the

enemy, but was defeated in battle, and retiring to his stockade was

already being hard pressed by the siege of the Moors. But afterwards

Solomon himself arrived with his whole army, and when he was sixty

stades away from the camp which Gontharis was commanding, he made a

stockade and remained there; and hearing all that had befallen the force

of Gontharis, he sent them a part of his army and bade them keep up the

fight against the enemy with courage. But the Moors, having gained the

upper hand in the engagement, as I have said, did as follows. The Abigas

River flows from Aurasium, and descending into a plain, waters the land

just as the men there desire. For the natives conduct this stream to

whatever place they think it will best serve them at the moment, for in

this plain there are many channels, into which the Abigas is divided,

and entering all of them, it passes underground, and reappears again

above the ground and gathers its stream together. This takes place over

the greatest part of the plain and makes it possible for the inhabitants

of the region, by stopping up the waterways with earth, or by again

opening them, to make use of the waters of this river as they wish. So

at that time the Moors shut off all the channels there and thus allowed

the whole stream to flow about the camp of the Romans. As a result of

this, a deep, muddy marsh formed there through which it was impossible

to go; this terrified them exceedingly and reduced them to a state of

helplessness. When this was heard by Solomon, he came quickly. But the

barbarians, becoming afraid, withdrew to the foot of Aurasium. And in a

place which they call Babosis they made camp and remained there. So

Solomon moved with his whole army and came to that place. And upon

engaging with the enemy, he defeated them decisively and turned them to

flight. Now after this the Moors did not think it advisable for them to

fight a pitched battle with the Romans; for they did not hope to

overcome them in this kind of contest; but they did have hope, based on

the difficult character of the country around Aurasium, that the Romans

would in a short time give up by reason of the sufferings they would

have to endure and would withdraw from there, just as they formerly had

done. The most of them, therefore, went off to Mauretania and the

barbarians to the south of Aurasium, but Iaudas with twenty thousand of

the Moors remained there. And it happened that he had built a fortress

on Aurasium, Zerboule by name. Into this he entered with all the Moors

and remained quiet. But Solomon was by no means willing that time should

be wasted in the siege, and learning that the plains about the city of

Tamougade were full of grain just becoming ripe, he led his army into

them, and settling himself there, began to plunder the land. Then, after

firing everything, he returned again to the fortress of Zerboule.

But during this time, while the Romans were plundering the land, Iaudas,

leaving behind some of the Moors, about as many as he thought would be

sufficient for the defence of the fortress, himself ascended to the

summit of Aurasium with the rest of the army, not wishing to stand siege

in the fort and have provisions fail his forces. And finding a high

place with cliff's on all sides of it and concealed by perpendicular

rocks, Toumar by name, he remained quietly there. And the Romans

besieged the fortress of Zerboule for three days. And using their bows,

since the wall was not high, they hit many of the barbarians upon the

parapets. And by some chance it happened that all the leaders of the

Moors were hit by these missiles and died. And when the three days' time

had passed and night came on, the Romans, having learned nothing of the

death of the leaders among the Moors, were planning to break up the

siege. For it seemed better to Solomon to go against Iaudas and the

multitude of the Moors, thinking that, if he should be able to capture

that force by siege, the barbarians in Zerboule would with less trouble

and difficulty yield to the Romans. But the barbarians, thinking that

they could no longer hold out against the siege, since all their leaders

had now been destroyed, decided to flee with all speed and abandon the

fortress. Accordingly they fled immediately in silence and without

allowing the enemy in any way to perceive it, and the Romans also at

daybreak began to prepare for departure. And since no one appeared on

the wall, although the besieging army was withdrawing, they began to

wonder and fell into the greatest perplexity among themselves. And in

this state of uncertainty they went around the fortress and found the

gate open from which the Moors had departed in flight. And entering the

fortress they treated everything as plunder, but they had no thought of

pursuing the enemy, for they had set out with light equipment and were

familiar with the country round about. And when they had plundered

everything, they set guards over the fortress, and all moved forward on

foot.

XX

And coming to the place Toumar, where the enemy had shut themselves in

and were remaining quiet, they encamped near by in a bad position, where

there would be no supply of water, except a little, nor any other

necessary thing. And after much time had been spent and the barbarians

did not come out against them at all, they themselves, no less than the

enemy, if not even more, were hard pressed by the siege and began to be

impatient. And more than anything else, they were distressed by the lack

of water; this Solomon himself guarded, giving each day no more than a

single cupful to each man. And since he saw that they were openly

discontented and no longer able to bear their present hardships, he

planned to make trial of the place, although it was difficult of access,

and called all together and exhorted them as follows: "Since God has

granted to the Romans to besiege the Moors on Aurasium, a thing which

hitherto has been beyond hope and now, to such as do not see what is

actually being done, is altogether incredible, it is necessary that we

too should lend our aid to the help that has come from above, and not

prove false to this favour, but undergoing the danger with enthusiasm,

should reach after the good fortune which is to come from success. For

in every case the turning of the scales of human affairs depends upon

the moment of opportunity; but if a man, by wilful cowardice, is traitor

to his fortune, he cannot justly blame it, having by his own action

brought the guilt upon himself. Now as for the Moors, you see their

weakness surely and the place in which they have shut themselves up and

are keeping guard, deprived of all the necessities of life. And as for

you, one of two things is necessary, either without feeling any vexation

at the siege to await the surrender of the enemy, or, if you shrink from

this, to accept the victory which goes with the danger. And fighting

against these barbarians will be the more free from danger for us,

inasmuch as they are already fighting with hunger and I think they will

never even come to an engagement with us. Having these things in mind at

the present time, it behooves you to execute all your orders with

eagerness."

After Solomon had made this exhortation, he looked about to see from

what point it would be best for his men to make an attempt on the place,

and for a long time he seemed to be in perplexity. For the difficult

nature of the ground seemed to him quite too much to contend with. But

while Solomon was considering this, chance provided a way for the

enterprise as follows. There was a certain Gezon in the army, a

foot-soldier, "optio"[56] of the detachment to which Solomon belonged;

for thus the Romans call the paymaster. This Gezon, either in play or in

anger, or perhaps even moved by some divine impulse, began to make the

ascent alone, apparently going against the enemy, and not far from him

went some of his fellow-soldiers, marvelling greatly at what he was

doing. And three of the Moors, who had been stationed to guard the

approach, suspecting that the man was coming against them, went on the

run to confront him. But since they were in a narrow way, they did not

proceed in orderly array, but each one went separately. And Gezon struck

the first one who came upon him and killed him, and in this way he

despatched each of the others. And when those in the rear perceived

this, they advanced with much shouting and tumult against the enemy. And

when the whole Roman army both heard and saw what was being done,

without waiting either for the general to lead the way for them or for

the trumpets to give the signal for battle, as was customary, nor indeed

even keeping their order, but making a great uproar and urging one

another on, they ran against the enemy's camp. There Rufinus and

Leontius, the sons of Zaunas the son of Pharesmanes, made a splendid

display of valorous deeds against the enemy. And by this the Moors were

terror-stricken, and when they learned that their guards also had been

destroyed, they straightway turned to flight where each one could, and

the most of them were overtaken in the difficult ground and killed. And

Iaudas himself, though struck by a javelin in the thigh, still made his

escape and withdrew to Mauretania. But the Romans, after plundering the

enemy's camp, decided not to abandon Aurasium again, but to guard

fortresses which Solomon was to build there, so that this mountain might

not be again accessible to the Moors.

Now there is on Aurasium a perpendicular rock which rises in the midst

of precipices; the natives call it the Rock of Geminianus; there the men

of ancient times had built a tower, making it very small as a place of

refuge, strong and unassailable, since the nature of the position

assisted them. Here, as it happened, Iaudas had a few days previously

deposited his money and his women, setting one old Moor in charge as

guardian of the money. For he could never have suspected that the enemy

would either reach this place, or that they could in all time capture

the tower by force. But the Romans at that time, searching through the

rough country of Aurasium, came there, and one of them, with a laugh,

attempted to climb up to the tower; but the women began to taunt him,

ridiculing him as attempting the impossible; and the old man, peering

out from the tower, did the same thing. But when the Roman soldier,

climbing with both hands and feet, had come near them, he drew his sword

quietly and leaped forward as quickly as he could, and struck the old

man a fair blow on the neck, and succeeded in cutting it through. And

the head fell down to the ground, and the soldiers, now emboldened and

holding to one another, ascended to the tower, and took out from there

both the women and the money, of which there was an exceedingly great

quantity. And by means of it Solomon surrounded many of the cities in

Libya with walls.

And after the Moors had retired from Numidia, defeated in the manner

described, the land of Zabe, which is beyond Mt. Aurasium and is called

"First Mauretania," whose metropolis is Sitiphis,[57] was added to the

Roman empire by Solomon as a tributary province; for of the other

Mauretania Caesarea is the first city, where was settled Mastigas[58]

with his Moors, having the whole country there subject and tributary to

him, except, indeed, the city of Caesarea. For this city Belisarius had

previously recovered for the Romans, as has been set forth in the

previous narrative[59]; and the Romans always journey to this city in

ships, but they are not able to go by land, since Moors dwell in that

country. And as a result of this all the Libyans who were subjects of

the Romans, coming to enjoy secure peace and finding the rule of Solomon

wise and very moderate, and having no longer any thought of hostility in

their minds, seemed the most fortunate of all men.

XXI

But in the fourth year after this it came about that all their blessings

were turned to the opposite. [543-544 A.D.] For in the seventeenth year

of the reign of the Emperor Justinian, Cyrus and Sergius, the sons of

Bacchus, Solomon's brother, were assigned by the emperor to rule over

the cities in Libya, Cyrus, the elder, to have Pentapolis,[60] and

Sergius Tripolis. And the Moors who are called Leuathae came to Sergius

with a great army at the city of Leptimagna,[61] spreading the report

that the reason they had come was this, that Sergius might give them the

gifts and insignia of office which were customary[62] and so make the

peace secure. But Sergius, persuaded by Pudentius, a man of Tripolis, of

whom I made mention in the preceding narrative[63] as having served the

Emperor Justinian against the Vandals at the beginning of the Vandalic

War, received eighty of the barbarians, their most notable men, into the

city, promising to fulfil all their demands; but he commanded the rest

to remain in the suburb. Then after giving these eighty men pledges

concerning the peace, he invited them to a banquet. But they say that

these barbarians had come into the city with treacherous intent, that

they might lay a trap for Sergius and kill him. And when they came into

conference with him, they called up many charges against the Romans, and

in particular said that their crops had been plundered wrongfully. And

Sergius, paying no heed to these things, rose from the seat on which he

was sitting, with intent to go away. And one of the barbarians, laying

hold upon his shoulder, attempted to prevent him from going. Then the

others began to shout in confusion, and were already rushing together

about him. But one of the body-guards of Sergius, drawing his sword,

despatched that Moor. And as a result of this a great tumult, as was

natural, arose in the room, and the guards of Sergius killed all the

barbarians. But one of them, upon seeing the others being slain, rushed

out of the house where these things were taking place, unnoticed by

anyone, and coming to his tribemates, revealed what had befallen their

fellows. And when they heard this, they betook themselves on the run to

their own camp and together with all the others arrayed themselves in

arms against the Romans. Now when they came near the city of Leptimagna,

Sergius and Pudentius confronted them with their whole army. And the

battle becoming a hand-to-hand fight, at first the Romans were

victorious and slew many of the enemy, and, plundering their camp,

secured their goods and enslaved an exceedingly great number of women

and children. But afterwards Pudentius, being possessed by a spirit of

reckless daring, was killed; and Sergius with the Roman army, since it

was already growing dark, marched into Leptimagna.

At a later time the barbarians took the field against the Romans with a

greater array. And Sergius went to join his uncle Solomon, in order that

he too might go to meet the enemy with a larger army; and he found there

his brother Cyrus also. And the barbarians, coming into Byzacium, made

raids and plundered a great part of the country there; and Antalas (whom

I mentioned in the preceding narrative[64] as having remained faithful

to the Romans and as being for this reason sole ruler of the Moors in

Byzacium) had by now, as it happened, become hostile to Solomon, because

Solomon had deprived him of the maintenance with which the emperor had

honoured him and had killed his brother, charging him with

responsibility for an uprising against the people of Byzacium. So at

that time Antalas was pleased to see these barbarians, and making an

offensive and defensive alliance with them, led them against Solomon and

Carthage.

And Solomon, as soon as he heard about this, put his whole army in

motion and marched against them, and coming upon them at the city of

Tebesta, distant six days' journey from Carthage, he established his

camp in company with the sons of his brother Bacchus, Cyrus and Sergius

and Solomon the younger. And fearing the multitude of the barbarians, he

sent to the leaders of the Leuathae, reproaching them because, while at

peace with the Romans, they had taken up arms and come against them, and

demanding that they should confirm the peace existing between the two

peoples, and he promised to swear the most dread oaths, that he would

hold no remembrance of what they had done. But the barbarians, mocking

his words, said that he would of course swear by the sacred writings of

the Christians, which they are accustomed to call Gospels. Now since

Sergius had once taken these oaths and then had slain those who trusted

in them,[65] it was their desire to go into battle and make a test of

these same sacred writings, to see what sort of power they had against

the perjurers, in order that they might first have absolute confidence

in them before they finally entered into the agreement. When Solomon

heard this, he made his preparations for the combat.

And on the following day he engaged with a portion of the enemy as they

were bringing in a very large booty, conquered them in battle, seized

all their booty and kept it under guard. And when the soldiers were

dissatisfied and counted it an outrage that he did not give them the

plunder, he said that he was awaiting the outcome of the war, in order

that they might distribute everything then, according to the share that

should seem to suit the merit of each. But when the barbarians advanced

a second time, with their whole army, to give battle, this time some of

the Romans stayed behind and the others entered the encounter with no

enthusiasm. At first, then, the battle was evenly contested, but later,

since the Moors were vastly superior by reason of their great numbers,

the most of the Romans fled, and though Solomon and a few men about him

held out for a time against the missiles of the barbarians, afterwards

they were overpowered by the enemy, and fleeing in haste, reached a

ravine made by a brook which flowed in that region. And there Solomon's

horse stumbled and threw him to the ground, and his body-guards lifted

him quickly in their arms and set him upon his horse. But overcome by

great pain and unable to hold the reins longer, he was overtaken and

killed by the barbarians, and many of his guards besides. Such was the

end of Solomon's life.

XXII

After the death of Solomon, Sergius, who, as has been said, was his

nephew, took over the government of Libya by gift of the emperor. And

this man became the chief cause of great ruin to the people of Libya,

and all were dissatisfied with his rule--the officers because, being

exceedingly stupid and young both in character and in years, he proved

to be the greatest braggart of all men, and he insulted them for no just

cause and disregarded them, always using the power of his wealth and the

authority of his office to this end; and the soldiers disliked him

because he was altogether unmanly and weak; and the Libyans, not only

for these reasons, but also because he had shown himself strangely fond

of the wives and the possessions of others. But most of all John, the

son of Sisiniolus, was hostile to the power of Sergius; for, though he

was an able warrior and was a man of unusually fair repute, he found

Sergius absolutely ungrateful. For this reason neither he nor anyone

else at all was willing to take up arms against the enemy. But almost

all the Moors were following Antalas, and Stotzas came at his summons

from Mauretania. And since not one of the enemy came out against them,

they began to sack the country, making plunder of everything without

fear. At that time Antalas sent to the Emperor Justinian a letter, which

set forth the following:

"That I am a slave of thy empire not even I myself would deny, but the

Moors, having suffered unholy treatment at the hands of Solomon in time

of peace, have taken up arms under the most severe constraint, not

lifting them against thee, but warding off our personal enemy; and this

is especially true of me. For he not only decided to deprive me of the

maintenance, which Belisarius long before specified and thou didst

grant, but he also killed my own brother, although he had no wrongdoing

to charge against him. We have therefore taken vengeance upon him who

wronged us. And if it is thy will that the Moors be in subjection to thy

empire and serve it in all things as they are accustomed to do, command

Sergius, the nephew of Solomon, to depart from here and return to thee,

and send another general to Libya. For thou wilt not be lacking in men

of discretion and more worthy than Sergius in every way; for as long as

this man commands thy army, it is impossible for peace to be established

between the Romans and the Moors."

Such was the letter written by Antalas. But the emperor, even after

reading these things and learning the common enmity of all toward

Sergius, was still unwilling to remove him from his office, out of

respect for the virtues of Solomon and especially the manner of his

death. Such, then, was the course of these events.

But Solomon, the brother of Sergius, who was supposed to have

disappeared from the world together with his uncle Solomon, was

forgotten by his brother and by the rest as well; for no one had learned

that he was alive. But the Moors, as it happened, had taken him alive,

since he was very young; and they enquired of him who he was. And he

said that he was a Vandal by birth, and a slave of Solomon. He said,

moreover, that he had a friend, a physician, Pegasius by name, in the

city of Laribus near by, who would purchase him by giving ransom. So the

Moors came up close to the fortifications of the city and called

Pegasius and displayed Solomon to him, and asked whether it was his

pleasure to purchase the man. And since he agreed to purchase him, they

sold Solomon to him for fifty pieces of gold. But upon getting inside

the fortifications, Solomon taunted the Moors as having been deceived by

him, a mere lad; for he said that he was no other than Solomon, the son

of Bacchus and nephew of Solomon. And the Moors, being deeply stung by

what had happened, and counting it a terrible thing that, while having a

strong security for the conduct of Sergius and the Romans, they had

relinquished it so carelessly, came to Laribus and laid siege to the

place, in order to capture Solomon with the city. And the besieged, in

terror at being shut in by the barbarians, for they had not even carried

in provisions, as it happened, opened negotiations with the Moors,

proposing that upon receiving a great sum of money they should

straightway abandon the siege. Whereupon the barbarians, thinking that

they could never take the city by force--for the Moors are not at all

practised in the storming of walls--and at the same time not knowing

that provisions were scarce for the besieged, welcomed their words, and

when they had received three thousand pieces of gold, they abandoned the

siege, and all the Leuathae retired homeward.

XXIII

But Antalas and the army of the Moors were gathering again in Byzacium

and Stotzas was with them, having some few soldiers and Vandals. And

John, the son of Sisiniolus, being earnestly entreated by the Libyans,

gathered an army and marched against them. Now Himerius, the Thracian,

was commander of the troops in Byzacium, and at that time he was ordered

by John to bring with him all the troops there, together with the

commanders of each detachment, and come to a place called Menephesse,

which is in Byzacium, and join his force there. But later, upon hearing

that the enemy were encamped there, John wrote to Himerius telling what

had happened and directing him to unite with his forces at another

place, that they might not go separately, but all together, to encounter

the enemy. But by some chance those who had this letter, making use of

another road, were quite unable to find Himerius, and he together with

his army, coming upon the camp of the enemy, fell into their hands. Now

there was in this Roman army a certain youth, Severianus, son of

Asiaticus, a Phoenician and a native of Emesa, commanding a detachment

of horse. This man alone, together with the soldiers under him, fifty in

number, engaged with the enemy. And for some time they held out, but

later, being overpowered by the great multitude, they ran to the top of

a hill in the neighbourhood on which there was also a fort, but one

which offered no security. For this reason they surrendered themselves

to their opponents when they ascended the hill to attack them. And the

Moors killed neither him nor any of the soldiers, but they made

prisoners of the whole force; and Himerius they kept under guard, and

handed over his soldiers to Stotzas, since they agreed with great

readiness to march with the rebels against the Romans; Himerius,

however, they threatened with death, if he should not carry out their

commands. And they commanded him to put into their hands by some device

the city of Hadrumetum on the sea. And since he declared that he was

willing, they went with him against Hadrumetum. And upon coming near the

city, they sent Himerius a little in advance with some of the soldiers

of Stotzas, dragging along, as it seemed, some Moors in chains, and they

themselves followed behind. And they directed Himerius to say to those

in command of the gates of the city that the emperor's army had won a

decisive victory, and that John would come very soon, bringing an

innumerable multitude of Moorish captives; and when in this manner the

gates had been opened to them, he was to get inside the fortifications

together with those who went with him. And he carried out these

instructions. And the citizens of Hadrumetum, being deceived in this way

(for they could not distrust the commander of all the troops in

Byzacium), opened wide the gates and received the enemy. Then, indeed,

those who had entered with Himerius drew their swords and would not

allow the guards there to shut the gates again, but straightway received

the whole army of the Moors into the city. And the barbarians, after

plundering it and establishing there some few guards, departed. And of

the Romans who had been captured some few escaped and came to Carthage,

among whom were Severianus and Himerius. For it was not difficult for

those who wished it to make their escape from Moors. And many also, not

at all unwillingly, remained with Stotzas.

Not long after this one of the priests, Paulus by name, who had been

appointed to take charge of the sick, in conferring with some of the

nobles, said: "I myself shall journey to Carthage and I am hopeful that

I shall return quickly with an army, and it will be your care to receive

the emperor's forces into the city." So they attached some ropes to him

and let him down by night from the fortifications, and he, coming to the

sea-shore and happening upon a fishing-vessel which was thereabouts, won

over the masters of this boat by great sums of money and sailed off to

Carthage. And when he had landed there and come into the presence of

Sergius, he told the whole story and asked him to give him a

considerable army in order to recover Hadrumetum. And since this by no

means pleased Sergius, inasmuch as the army in Carthage was not great,

the priest begged him to give him some few soldiers, and receiving not

more than eighty men, he formed the following plan. He collected a large

number of boats and skiffs and embarked on them many sailors and Libyans

also, clad in the garments which the Roman soldiers are accustomed to

wear. And setting off with the whole fleet, he sailed at full speed

straight for Hadrumetum. And when he had come close to it, he sent some

men stealthily and declared to the notables of the city that Germanus,

the emperor's nephew, had recently come to Carthage, and had sent a very

considerable army to the citizens of Hadrumetum. And he bade them take

courage at this and open for them one small gate that night. And they

carried out his orders. Thus Paulus with his followers got inside the

fortifications, and he slew all the enemy and recovered Hadrumetum for

the emperor; and the rumour about Germanus, beginning there, went even

to Carthage. And the Moors, as well as Stotzas and his followers, upon

hearing this, at first became terrified and went off in flight to the

extremities of Libya, but later, upon learning the truth, they counted

it a terrible thing that they, after sparing all the citizens of

Hadrumetum, had suffered such things at their hands. For this reason

they made raids everywhere and wrought unholy deeds upon the Libyans,

sparing no one whatever his age, and the land became at that time for

the most part depopulated. For of the Libyans who had been left some

fled into the cities and some to Sicily and the other islands. But

almost all the notables came to Byzantium, among whom was Paulus also,

who had recovered Hadrumetum for the emperor. And the Moors with still

less fear, since no one came out against them, were plundering

everything, and with them Stotzas, who was now powerful. For many Roman

soldiers were following him, some who had come as deserters, and others

who had been in the beginning captives but now remained with him of

their own free will. And John, who was indeed a man of some reputation

among the Moors, was remaining quiet because of the extreme hostility he

had conceived against Sergius.

XXIV

At this time the emperor sent to Libya, with some few soldiers, another

general, Areobindus, a man of the senate and of good birth, but not at

all skilled in matters of warfare. And he sent with him Athanasius, a

prefect, who had come recently from Italy, and some few Armenians led by

Artabanes and John, sons of John, of the line of the Arsacidae,[66] who

had recently left the Persian army and as deserters had come back to the

Romans, together with the other Armenians. And with Areobindus was his

sister and Prejecta, his wife, who was the daughter of Vigilantia, the

sister of the Emperor Justinian. The emperor, however, did not recall

Sergius, but commanded both him and Areobindus to be generals of Libya,

dividing the country and the detachments of soldiers between them. And

he enjoined upon Sergius to carry on the war against the barbarians in

Numidia, and upon Areobindus to direct his operations constantly against

the Moors in Byzacium. And when this expedition lauded at Carthage,

Sergius departed forthwith for Numidia with his own army, and

Areobindus, upon learning that Antalas and Stotzas were encamped near

the city of Siccaveneria, which is three days' journey distant from

Carthage, commanded John, the son of Sisiniolus, to go against them,

choosing out whatever was best of the army; and he wrote to Sergius to

unite with the forces of John, in order that they might all with one

common force engage with the enemy. Now Sergius decided to pay no heed

to the message and have nothing to do with this affair, and John with a

small army was compelled to engage with an innumerable host of the

enemy. And there had always been great enmity between him and Stotzas,

and each one used to pray that he might become the slayer of the other

before departing from the world. At that time, accordingly, as soon as

the fighting was about to come to close quarters, both rode out from

their armies and came against each other. And John drew his bow, and, as

Stotzas was still advancing, made a successful shot and hit him in the

right groin, and Stotzas, mortally wounded, fell there, not yet dead,

but destined to survive this wound only a little time. And all came up

immediately, both the Moorish army and those who followed Stotzas, and

placing Stotzas with little life in him against a tree, they advanced

upon their enemy with great fury; and since they were far superior in

numbers, they routed John and all the Romans with no difficulty. Then,

indeed, they say, John remarked that death had now a certain sweetness

for him, since his prayer regarding Stotzas had reached fulfilment. And

there was a steep place near by, where his horse stumbled and threw him

off. And as he was trying to leap upon the horse again, the enemy caught

and killed him, a man who had shown himself great both in reputation and

in valour. And Stotzas learned this and then died, remarking only that

now it was most sweet to die. In this battle John, the Armenian, brother

of Artabanes, also died, after making a display of valorous deeds

against the enemy. And the emperor, upon hearing this, was very deeply

grieved because of the valour of John; and thinking it inexpedient for

the two generals to administer the province, he immediately recalled

Sergius and sent him to Italy with an army, and gave over the whole

power of Libya to Areobindus.

XXV

And two months after Sergius had departed from there, Gontharis essayed

to set up a tyranny in the following manner. He himself, as it happened,

was commanding the troops in Numidia and spending his time there for

that reason, but he was secretly treating with the Moors that they might

march against Carthage. Forthwith, therefore, an army of the enemy,

having been gathered into one place from Numidia and Byzacium, went with

great zeal against Carthage. And the Numidians were commanded by

Coutzinas and Iaudas, and the men of Byzacium by Antalas. And with him

was also John, the tyrant, and his followers; for the mutineers, after

the death of Stotzas, had set him up as ruler over themselves. And when

Areobindus learned of their attack, he summoned to Carthage a number of

the officers with their men, and among them Gontharis. And he was joined

also by Artabanes and the Armenians. Areobindus, accordingly, bade

Gontharis lead the whole army against the enemy. And Gontharis, though

he had promised to serve him zealously in the war, proceeded to act as

follows. One of his servants, a Moor by birth and a cook by trade, he

commanded to go to the enemy's camp, and to make it appear to all others

that he had run away from his master, but to tell Antalas secretly that

Gontharis wished to share with him the rule of Libya. So the cook

carried out these directions, and Antalas heard the word gladly, but

made no further reply than to say that worthy enterprises are not

properly brought to pass among men by cooks. When this was heard by

Gontharis, he immediately sent to Antalas one of his body-guards,

Ulitheus by name, whom he had found especially trustworthy in his

service, inviting him to come as close as possible to Carthage. For, if

this were done, he promised him to put Areobindus out of the way. So

Ulitheus without the knowledge of the rest of the barbarians made an

agreement with Antalas that he, Antalas, should rule Byzacium, having

half the possessions of Areobindus and taking with him fifteen hundred

Roman soldiers, while Gontharis should assume the dignity of king,

holding the power over Carthage and the rest of Libya. And after

settling these matters he returned to the Roman camp, which they had

made entirely in front of the circuit-wall, distributing among

themselves the guarding of each gate. And the barbarians not long

afterwards proceeded straight for Carthage in great haste, and they made

camp and remained in the place called Decimum.[67] And departing from

there on the following day, they were moving forward. But some of the

Roman army encountered them, and engaging with them unexpectedly, slew a

small number of the Moors. But these were straightway called back by

Gontharis, who rebuked them for acting with reckless daring and for

being willing to give the Romans foreknowledge of the danger into which

they were thrown.

But in the meantime Areobindus sent to Coutzinas secretly and began to

treat with him with regard to turning traitor. And Coutzinas promised

him that, as soon as they should begin the action, he would turn against

Antalas and the Moors of Byzacium. For the Moors keep faith neither with

any other men nor with each other. This Areobindus reported to

Gontharis. And he, wishing to frustrate the enterprise by having it

postponed, advised Areobindus by no means to have faith in Coutzinas,

unless he should receive from him his children as hostages. So

Areobindus and Coutzinas, constantly sending secret messages to each

other, were busying themselves with the plot against Antalas. And

Gontharis sent Ulitheus once more and made known to Antalas what was

being done. And he decided not to make any charges against Coutzinas nor

did he allow him to know that he had discovered the plot, nor indeed did

he disclose anything of what had been agreed upon by himself and

Gontharis. But though enemies and hostile at heart to one another, they

were arrayed together with treacherous intent, and each of them was

marching with the other against his own particular friend. With such

purposes Coutzinas and Antalas were leading the Moorish army against

Carthage. And Gontharis was intending to kill Areobindus, but, in order

to avoid the appearance of aiming at sole power, he wished to do this

secretly in battle, in order that it might seem that the plot had been

made by others against the general, and that he had been compelled by

the Roman army to assume command over Libya. Accordingly he circumvented

Areobindus by deceit, and persuaded him to go out against the enemy and

engage with them, now that they had already come close to Carthage. He

decided, therefore, that on the following day he would lead the whole

army against the enemy at sunrise. But Areobindus, being very

inexperienced in this matter and reluctant besides, kept holding back

for no good reason. For while considering how he should put on his

equipment of arms and armour, and making the other preparations for the

sally, he wasted the greatest part of the day. He accordingly put off

the engagement to the following day and remained quiet. But Gontharis,

suspecting that he had hesitated purposely, as being aware of what was

being done, decided openly to accomplish the murder of the general and

make his attempt at the tyranny.

XXVI

And on the succeeding day he proceeded to act as follows. Opening wide

the gates where he himself kept guard, he placed huge rocks under them,

that no one might be able easily to shut them, and he placed armoured

men with bows in their hands about the parapet in great numbers, and he

himself, having put on his breastplate, took his stand between the

gates. And his purpose in doing this was not that he might receive the

Moors into the city; for the Moors, being altogether fickle, are

suspicious of all men. And it is not unnatural that they are so; for

whoever is by nature treacherous toward his neighbours is himself unable

to trust anyone at all, but he is compelled to be suspicious of all men,

since he estimates the character of his neighbour by his own mind. For

this reason, then, Gontharis did not hope that even the Moors would

trust him and come inside the circuit-wall, but he made this move in

order that Areobindus, falling into great fear, might straightway rush

off in flight, and, abandoning Carthage as quickly as he could, might

betake himself to Byzantium. And he would have been right in his

expectation had not winter come on just then and frustrated his plan.

[544-545 A.D.] And Areobindus, learning what was being done, summoned

Athanasius and some of the notables. And Artabanes also came to him from

the camp with two others and he urged Areobindus neither to lose heart

nor to give way to the daring of Gontharis, but to go against him

instantly with all his men and engage him in battle, before any further

trouble arose. At first, then, Areobindus sent to Gontharis one of his

friends, Phredas by name, and commanded him to test the other's purpose.

And when Phredas returned and reported that Gontharis by no means denied

his intention of seizing the supreme power, he purposed immediately to

go against him arrayed for battle.

But in the meantime Gontharis slandered Areobindus to the soldiers,

saying that he was a coward and not only possessed with fear of the

enemy, but at the same time quite unwilling to give them, his soldiers,

their pay, and that he was planning to run away with Anastasius and that

they were about to sail very soon from Mandracium[68], in order that the

soldiers, fighting both with hunger and with the Moors, might be

destroyed; and he enquired whether it was their wish to arrest both and

keep them under guard. For thus he hoped either that Areobindus,

perceiving the tumult, would turn to flight, or that he would be

captured by the soldiers and ruthlessly put to death. Moreover he

promised that he himself would advance to the soldiers money of his own,

as much as the government owed them. And they were approving his words

and were possessed with great wrath against Areobindus, but while this

was going on Areobindus together with Artabanes and his followers came

there. And a battle took place on the parapet and below about the gate

where Gontharis had taken his stand, and neither side was worsted. And

all were about to gather from the camps, as many as were well disposed

to the emperor, and capture the mutineers by force. For Gontharis had

not as yet deceived all, but the majority remained still uncorrupted in

mind. But Areobindus, seeing then for the first time the killing of men

(for he had not yet, as it happened, become acquainted with this sight),

was terror-stricken and, turning coward, fled, unable to endure what he

saw.

Now there is a temple inside the fortifications of Carthage hard by the

sea-shore, the abode of men who are very exact in their practice of

religion, whom we have always been accustomed to call "monks"; this

temple had been built by Solomon not long before, and he had surrounded

it with a wall and rendered it a very strong fortress. And Areobindus,

fleeing for refuge, rushed into the monastery, where he had already sent

his wife and sister. Then Artabanes too ran away, and all the rest

withdrew from Carthage as each one could. And Gontharis, having taken

the city by assault, with the mutineers took possession of the palace,

and was already guarding both the gates and the harbour most carefully.

First, then, he summoned Athanasius, who came to him without delay, and

by using much flattery Athanasius made it appear that what had been done

pleased him exceedingly. And after this Gontharis sent the priest of the

city and commanded Areobindus, after receiving pledges, to come to the

palace, threatening that he would besiege him if he disobeyed and would

not again give him pledges of safety, but would use every means to

capture and put him to death. So the priest, Reparatus, stoutly declared

to Areobindus that in accordance with the decision of Gontharis he would

swear that no harm would come to him from Gontharis, telling also what

he had threatened in case he did not obey. But Areobindus became afraid

and agreed that he would follow the priest immediately, if the priest,

after performing the rite of the sacred bath[69] in the usual manner,

should swear to him by that rite and then give him pledges for his

safety. So the priest did according to this. And Areobindus without

delay followed him, clad in a garment which was suitable neither for a

general nor for any one else in military service, but altogether

appropriate to a slave or one of private station; this garment the

Romans call "casula"[70] in the Latin tongue. And when they came near

the palace, he took in his hands the holy scriptures from the priest,

and so went before Gontharis. And falling prone he lay there a long

time, holding out to him the suppliant olive-branch and the holy

scriptures, and with him was the child which had been counted worthy of

the sacred bath by which the priest had given him the pledge, as has

been told. And when, with difficulty, Gontharis had raised him to his

feet, he enquired of Gontharis in the name of all things holy whether

his safety was secure. And Gontharis now bade him most positively to be

of good cheer, for he would suffer no harm at his hands, but on the

following day would be gone from Carthage with his wife and his

possessions. Then he dismissed the priest Reparatus, and bade Areobindus

and Athanasius dine with him in the palace. And during the dinner he

honoured Areobindus, inviting him to take his place first on the couch;

but after the dinner he did not let him go, but compelled him to sleep

in a chamber alone; and he sent there Ulitheus with certain others to

assail him. And while he was wailing and crying aloud again and again

and speaking many entreating words to them to move them to pity, they

slew him. Athanasius, however, they spared, passing him by, I suppose,

on account of his advanced age.

XXVII

And on the following day Gontharis sent the head of Areobindus to

Antalas, but decided to deprive him of the money and of the soldiers.

Antalas, therefore, was outraged, because he was not carrying out

anything of what had been agreed with him, and at the same time, upon

considering what Gontharis had sworn and what he had done to Areobindus,

he was incensed. For it did not seem to him that one who had disregarded

such oaths would ever be faithful either to him or to anyone else at

all. So after considering the matter long with himself, he was desirous

of submitting to the Emperor Justinian; for this reason, then, he

marched back. And learning that Marcentius, who commanded the troops in

Byzacium, had fled to one of the islands which lie off the coast, he

sent to him, and telling him the whole story and giving pledges,

persuaded him by kind words to come to him. And Marcentius remained with

Antalas in the camp, while the soldiers who were on duty in Byzacium,

being well disposed to the emperor, were guarding the city of

Hadrumetum. But the soldiers of Stotzas, being not less than a thousand,

perceiving what was being done, went in great haste, with John leading

them, to Gontharis; and he gladly received them into the city. Now there

were five hundred Romans and about eighty Huns, while all the rest were

Vandals. And Artabanes, upon receiving pledges, went up to the palace

with his Armenians, and promised to serve the tyrant according to his

orders. But secretly he was purposing to destroy Gontharis, having

previously communicated this purpose to Gregorius, his nephew, and to

Artasires, his body-guard. And Gregorius, urging him on to the

undertaking, spoke as follows:

"Artabanes, the opportunity is now at hand for you, and you alone, to

win the glory of Belisarius--nay more, even to surpass that glory by

far. For he came here, having received from the emperor a most

formidable army and great sums of money, having officers accompanying

him and advisers in great numbers, and a fleet of ships whose like we

have never before heard tell of, and numerous cavalry, and arms, and

everything else, to put it in a word, prepared for him in a manner

worthy of the Roman empire. And thus equipped he won back Libya for the

Romans with much toil. But all these achievements have so completely

come to naught, that they are, at this moment, as if they had never

been--except indeed, that there is at present left to the Romans from

the victory of Belisarius the losses they have suffered in lives and in

money, and, in addition, that they are no longer able even to guard the

good things they won. But the winning back of all these things for the

emperor now depends upon the courage and judgment and right hand of you

alone. Therefore consider that you are of the house of the Arsacidae by

ancient descent, and remember that it is seemly for men of noble birth

to play the part of brave men always and in all places. Now many

remarkable deeds have been performed by you in behalf of freedom. For

when you were still young, you slew Acacius,[71] the ruler of the

Armenians, and Sittas,[72] the general of the Romans, and as a result of

this becoming known to the king Chosroes, you campaigned with him

against the Romans. And since you have reached so great a station that

it devolves upon you not to allow the Roman power to lie subject to a

drunken dog, show at this time that it was by reason of noble birth and

a valorous heart that at the former time, good sir, you performed those

deeds; and I as well as Artasires here will assist you in everything, so

far as we have the power, in accordance with your commands."

So spoke Gregorius; and he excited the mind of Artabanes still more

against the tyrant. But Gontharis, bringing out the wife and the sister

of Areobindus from the fortress, compelled them to remain at a certain

house, showing them no insult by any word or deed whatsoever, nor did

they have provisions in any less measure than they needed, nor were they

compelled to say or to do anything except, indeed, that Prejecta was

forced to write to her uncle[73] that Gontharis was honouring them

exceedingly and that he was altogether guiltless of the murder of her

husband, and that the base deed had been done by Ulitheus, Gontharis by

no means approving. And Gontharis was persuaded to do this by

Pasiphilus, a man who had been foremost among the mutineers in Byzacium,

and had assisted Gontharis very greatly in his effort to establish the

tyranny. For Pasiphilus maintained that, if he should do this, the

emperor would marry the young woman to him, and in view of his kinship

with her would give also a, dowry of a large sum of money. And Gontharis

commanded Artabanes to lead the army against Antalas and the Moors in

Byzacium. For Coutzinas, having quarrelled with Antalas, had separated

from him openly and allied himself with Gontharis; and he gave Gontharis

his son and his mother as hostages. So the army, under the leadership of

Artabanes, proceeded immediately against Antalas. And with Artabanes was

John also, the commander of the mutineers of Stotzas, and Ulitheus, the

body-guard of Gontharis; and there were Moors also following him, led by

Coutzinas. And after passing by the city of Hadrumetum, they came upon

their opponents somewhere near there, and making a camp a little apart

from the enemy, they passed the night. And on the day after that John

and Ulitheus, with a detachment of the army, remained there, while

Artabanes and Coutzinas led their army against their opponents. And the

Moors under Antalas did not withstand their attack and rushed off in

flight. But Artabanes of a sudden wilfully played the coward, and

turning his standard about marched off towards the rear. For this reason

Ulitheus was purposing to kill him when he came into the camp. But

Artabanes, by way of excusing himself, said he feared lest Marcentius,

coming to assist the enemy from the city of Hadrumetum, where he then

happened to be, would do his forces irreparable harm; but Gontharis, he

said, ought to march against the enemy with the whole army. And at first

he considered going to Hadrumetum with his followers and uniting with

the emperor's forces. But after long deliberation it seemed to him

better to put Gontharis out of the world and thus free both the emperor

and Libya from a difficult situation. Returning, accordingly, to

Carthage, he reported to the tyrant that he would need a larger army to

meet the enemy. And Gontharis, after conferring with Pasiphilus,

consented, indeed, to equip his whole army, but purposed to place a

guard in Carthage, and in person to lead the army against the enemy.

Each day, therefore, he was destroying many men toward whom he felt any

suspicion, even though groundless. And he gave orders to Pasiphilus,

whom he was intending to appoint in charge of the garrison of Carthage,

to kill all the Greeks[74] without any consideration.

XXVIII

And after arranging everything else in the very best way, as it seemed

to him, Gontharis decided to entertain his friends at a banquet, with

the intention of making his departure on the following day. And in a

room where there were in readiness three couches which had been there

from ancient times, he made the banquet. So he himself reclined, as was

natural, upon the first couch, where were also Athanasius and Artabanes,

and some of those known to Gontharis, and Peter, a Thracian by birth,

who had previously been a body-guard of Solomon. And on both the other

couches were the first and noblest of the Vandals. John, however, who

commanded the mutineers of Stotzas; was entertained by Pasiphilus in his

own house, and each of the other leaders wherever it suited the several

friends of Gontharis to entertain them. Artabanes, accordingly, when he

was bidden to this banquet, thinking that this occasion furnished him a

suitable opportunity for the murder of the tyrant, was planning to carry

out his purpose. He therefore disclosed the matter to Gregorius and to

Artasires and three other body-guards, bidding the body-guards get

inside the hall with their swords (for when commanders are entertained

at a banquet it is customary for their body-guards to stand behind

them), and after getting inside to make an attack suddenly, at whatever

moment should seem to them most suitable; and Artasires was to strike

the first blow. At the same time he directed Gregorius to pick out a

large number of the most daring of the Armenians and bring them to the

palace, carrying only their swords in their hands (for it is not lawful

for the escort of officers in a city to be armed with anything else),

and leaving these men in the vestibule, to come inside with the

body-guards; and he was to tell the plan to no one of them, but to make

only this explanation, that he was suspicious of Gontharis, fearing that

he had called Artabanes to this banquet to do him harm, and therefore

wished that they should stand beside the soldiers of Gontharis who had

been stationed there on guard, and giving the appearance of indulging in

some play, they were to take hold of the shields which these guards

carried, and waving them about and otherwise moving them keep constantly

turning them up and down; and if any tumult or shouting took place

within, they were to take up these very shields and come to the rescue

on the run. Such were the orders which Artabanes gave, and Gregorius

proceeded to put them into execution. And Artasires devised the

following plan: he cut some arrows into two parts and placed them on the

wrist of his left arm, the sections reaching to his elbow. And after

binding them very carefully with straps, he laid over them the sleeve of

his tunic. And he did this in order that, if anyone should raise his

sword over him and attempt to strike him, he might avoid the chance of

suffering serious injury; for he had only to thrust his left arm in

front of him, and the steel would break off as it crashed upon the wood,

and thus his body could not be reached at any point.

With such purpose, then, Artasires did as I have said. And to Artabanes

he spoke as follows: "As for me, I have hopes that I shall prove equal

to the undertaking and shall not hesitate, and also that I shall touch

the body of Gontharis with this sword; but as for what will follow, I am

unable to say whether God in His anger against the tyrant will

co-operate with me in this daring deed, or whether, avenging some sin of

mine, He will stand against me there and be an obstacle in my way. If,

therefore, you see that the tyrant is not wounded in a vital spot, do

you kill me with my sword without the least hesitation, so that I may

not be tortured by him into saying that it was by your will that I

rushed into the undertaking, and thus not only perish myself most

shamefully, but also be compelled against my will to destroy you as

well." And after Artasires had spoken such words he too, together with

Gregorius and one of the body-guards, entered the room where the couches

were and took his stand behind Artabanes. And the rest, remaining by the

guards, did as they had been commanded.

So Artasires, when the banquet had only just begun, was purposing to set

to work, and he was already touching the hilt of his sword. But

Gregorius prevented him by saying in the Armenian tongue that Gontharis

was still wholly himself, not having as yet drunk any great quantity of

wine. Then Artasires groaned and said: "My good fellow, how fine a heart

I have for the deed, and now you have for the moment wrongfully hindered

me!" And as the drinking went on, Gontharis, who by now was thoroughly

saturated with wine, began to give portions of the food to the

body-guards, yielding to a generous mood. And they, upon receiving these

portions, went outside the building immediately and were about to eat

them, leaving beside Gontharis only three body-guards, one of whom

happened to be Ulitheus. And Artasires also started to go out in order

to taste the morsels with the rest. But just then a kind of fear came

over him lest, when he should wish to draw his sword, something might

prevent him. Accordingly, as soon as he got outside, he secretly threw

away the sheath of the sword, and taking it naked under his arm, hidden

by his cloak, he rushed in to Gontharis, as if to say something without

the knowledge of the others. And Artabanes, seeing this, was in a fever

of excitement, and became exceedingly anxious by reason of the

surpassing magnitude of the issue at stake; he began to move his head,

the colour of his countenance changed repeatedly, and he seemed to have

become altogether like one inspired, on account of the greatness of the

undertaking. And Peter, upon seeing this, understood what was being

done, but he did not disclose it to any of the others, because, being

well disposed to the emperor, he was exceedingly pleased by what was

going on. And Artasires, having come close to the tyrant, was pushed by

one of the servants, and as he retreated a little to the rear, the

servant observed that his sword was bared and cried out saying: "What is

this, my excellent fellow?" And Gontharis, putting his hand to his right

ear, and turning his face, looked at him. And Artasires struck him with

his sword as he did so, and cut off a piece of his scalp together with

his fingers. And Peter cried out and exhorted Artasires to kill the most

unholy of all men. And Artabanes, seeing Gontharis leaping to his feet

(for he reclined close to him), drew a two-edged dagger which hung by

his thigh--a rather large one--and thrusting it into the tyrant's left

side clean up to the hilt, left it there. And the tyrant none the less

tried to leap up, but having received a mortal wound, he fell where he

was. Ulitheus then brought his sword down upon Artasires as if to strike

him over the head; but he held his left arm above his head, and thus

profited by his own idea in the moment of greatest need. For since

Ulitheus' sword had its edge turned when it struck the sections of

arrows on his arm, he himself was unscathed, and he killed Ulitheus with

no difficulty. And Peter and Artabanes, the one seizing the sword of

Gontharis and the other that of Ulitheus who had fallen, killed on the

spot those of the body-guards who remained. Thus there arose, as was

natural, an exceedingly great tumult and confusion. And when this was

perceived by those of the Armenians who were standing by the tyrant's

guards, they immediately picked up the shields according to the plan

which had been arranged with them, and went on the run to the

banquet-room. And they slew all the Vandals and the friends of

Gontharis, no one resisting.

Then Artabanes enjoined upon Athanasius to take charge of the money in

the palace: for all that had been left by Areobindus was there. And when

the guards learned of the death of Gontharis, straightway many arrayed

themselves with the Armenians; for the most of them were of the

household of Areobindus. With one accord, therefore, they proclaimed the

Emperor Justinian triumphant. And the cry, coming forth from a multitude

of men, and being, therefore, an exceedingly mighty sound, was strong

enough to reach the greater part of the city. Wherefore those who were

well-disposed to the emperor leaped into the houses of the mutineers and

straightway killed them, some while enjoying sleep, others while taking

food, and still others while they were awe-struck with fear and in

terrible perplexity. And among these was Pasiphilus, but not John, for

he with some of the Vandals fled to the sanctuary. To these Artabanes

gave pledges, and making them rise from there, sent them to Byzantium,

and having thus recovered the city for the emperor, he continued to

guard it. And the murder of the tyrant took place on the thirty-sixth

day of the tyranny, in the nineteenth year of the reign of the Emperor

Justinian. [545-546 A.D.]

And Artabanes won great fame for himself from this deed among all men.

And straightway Prejecta, the wife of Areobindus, rewarded him with

great sums of money, and the emperor appointed him general of all Libya.

But not long after this Artabanes entreated the emperor to summon him to

Byzantium, and the emperor fulfilled his request. And having summoned

Artabanes, he appointed John, the brother of Pappus, sole general of

Libya. And this John, immediately upon arriving in Libya, had an

engagement with Antalas and the Moors in Byzacium, and conquering them

in battle, slew many; and he wrested from these barbarians all the

standards of Solomon, and sent them to the emperor--standards which they

had previously secured as plunder, when Solomon had been taken from the

world.[75] And the rest of the Moors he drove as far as possible from

the Roman territory. But at a later time the Leuathae came again with a

great army from the country about Tripolis to Byzacium, and united with

the forces of Antalas. And when John went to meet this army, he was

defeated in the engagement, and losing many of his men, fled to Laribus.

And then indeed the enemy, overrunning the whole country there as far as

Carthage, treated in a terrible manner those Libyans who fell in their

way. But not long afterward John collected those of the soldiers who had

survived, and drawing into alliance with him many Moors and especially

those under Coutzinas, came to battle with the enemy and unexpectedly

routed them. And the Romans, following them up as they fled in complete

disorder, slew a great part of them, while the rest escaped to the

confines of Libya. Thus it came to pass that those of the Libyans who

survived, few as they were in number and exceedingly poor, at last and

after great toil found some peace.

FOOTNOTES:

[1]

The _vexillum praetorium_ carried by the cavalry of the imperial guard,

IV. x. 4 below; cf. Lat. _pannum_.

[2]

See III. xxiv. 1.

[3]

"Auxiliaries"; see Book III. xi. 3 and note.

[4]

Chap. i. 3.

[5]

Chap. i. 3.

[6]

Now Bona; it was the home and burial-place of St. Augustine.

[7]

The Eruli, or Heruli, were one of the wildest and most corrupt of the

barbarian tribes. They came from beyond the Danube. On their origin,

practices, and character, see VI. xiv.

[8]

The Greek implies that the Tuscan Sea was stormy, like the Adriatic. The

Syrtes farther east had a bad reputation.

[9]

About twelve miles west of Algiers, originally Iol, now Cherchel; named

after Augustus.

[10]

See III. i. 6 and note.

[11]

See III. i. 18.

[12]